US Companies Add Fewer Jobs Than Forecast, ADP Data Show

(Bloomberg) -- US companies added fewer jobs in March than forecast while wage growth slowed, underscoring labor demand that's showing some signs of cooling.

Private payrolls rose 145,000 last month after an upwardly revised 261,000 increase in February, according to figures out Wednesday from ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The figure was below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Hiring increased the most in leisure and hospitality; trade, transportation and utilities; and construction. Firms in manufacturing, financial activities and professional and business services cut payrolls.

The South was the only region to shed jobs, and some medium-sized businesses did as well.

The report suggests a year's worth of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve could be starting to weigh on the labor market. Meantime, layoffs that initially started at big technology companies are now beginning to spread to other sectors.

Read more: Americans Emulate Europe and Work Less, Posing Problem for Fed

The recent turmoil in the banking sector could also impact hiring if tighter credit conditions lead businesses to halt expansion plans. Smaller firms are already having trouble competing for talent amid wage pressures and higher borrowing costs.

“Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement. “Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down.”

Workers who stayed in their jobs experienced a 6.9% pay increase in March from a year ago, the lowest in over a year, according to ADP's data, which analyzes payrolls of over 25 million US employees. For those who changed jobs, the median increase in annual pay eased to 14.2%, also the lowest since January 2022.

There are other signs demand for workers is subsiding but remains elevated. Job openings fell in February to the lowest level since May 2021, data out Tuesday showed.

Government data out Friday is forecast to show employers added about a quarter of a million jobs last month and the unemployment rate held at a historically low level.

--With assistance from Jordan Yadoo, Reade Pickert and Vince Golle.

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